I just finished editing a paper on Australia coastal
current. The authors used “in the austral summer (or winter),” and I thought
that was fine even though I know some colleagues use “in boreal summer (or
winter)” without “the.”
Since I have nothing to do this (Sunday) morning
(sure I can always do some cleaning), I decided to google it. It turned out
twice as many people use “in the boreal summer” than “in boreal summer.” How
little do I know about English writing!
ps. I chatted with a friend at the Ocean Sciences
Meeting in Salt lake City a couple of weeks ago. He is a very good native
speaker in terms of writing (not just scientific writing). He told me that
after he finishes a manuscript he would go over every “the” and delete the ones
that are not necessary. Now, that’s something I never did and should try.